Cutest, Best Little Brother Ever

Our littlest guy is getting SO big!  I know from experience that as much as I THINK I'll never forget what he was like as a toddler....as time creeps on...I WILL forget.  Before I know it, he'll be entering his school years and I'll have to rely on this blog to look back and remember!

Macallan is OBSESSED with being outdoors!  You not be able to make it out in this picture, but it was taken when the ground was covered in snow.  Our yard was snow covered from October to April last winter.  My stepdad bought the boys little snow shovels -- best investment EVER -- and each time we pulled into the garage, Macallan would get out of the van and immediately pick up his little shovel and start shoveling!  It was the cutest thing.  I have a feeling he'll be happier than I am to see the snow return this winter!

Below might be one of my favorite pictures ever!  Macallan has a TERRIBLE habit of crawling all over the kitchen table.  It's getting a bit better these days, but it seriously drove me crazy for months!  I honestly remember including a request in my nightly prayers "PLEASE help me be consistent in keeping Macallan off of the kitchen table."  Yes, it may seem ridiculous now, but it certainly didn't at the time!

How else would you eat your morning cereal?

Getting three boys bathed and ready for bed is no small chore. I thought I was smart by starting with the youngest and working my way up.  I got Macallan out of the bath, diapered him, clothed him and started on Maverick.....only to walk back into the bathroom and find that he had re-entered the tub with Mitchell!  Sometimes you can never win! :)

Maverick and Macallan shut the doors to our sunroom to play, but quickly turn into caged animals! :)

Any parent knows that after bath time snuggles are the BEST!

Daddy on diaper duty?  That's uncommon :)

Macallan LOVES balls!  ALL balls!  Not a day goes by where he doesn't shoot some hoops.  He can actually make it most of the time!  He shows the most coordination of any of our boys at his young age.  Maybe that's just because he has some good "teachers". :)

The boys (AND I) were SO HAPPY to finally have spring weather in Minnesota!  The snow finally thawed and what do you know....our swing set was underneath!  We spend MANY summer hours playing on our backyard swing set!

Mitchell and Macallan sure have a special bond.  This baby can do no wrong in the eyes of his biggest brother.  Mitchell loves to read books to Macallan.  One of Macallan's first phrases was "one more book", which he typically repeats OVER and OVER and OVER!

Mitchell has come up with several humorous nicknames for Macallan, like...

"Chewy the Chihuahua"
"Runaway Train"

"Trouble in a Bubble"

How else do you rummage through the cabinets when you're 3 feet tall?

What's for dinner?

SPRING is HERE!  Ever since the thermometer hit 60, this boy would prefer to run around naked all day long.  He has no shame :)  He LOVES helping me water the plants.  The plants don't prefer his help as not much water actually makes it to them, but he sure has fun!

Macallan has lots of lots of words...many of which probably only I can understand!  A few of his favorites are "momma", "mitchell", "dada", "dog dog", "ball", "that way", "i want that", "shoes" and "yeah".  Typical toddler phrases, huh? :)

This boy is shoe OBSESSED!  He LOVES putting on his shoes...and anyone else's!  In fact, as I type, he's soundly sleeping upstairs in his pajamas and his SHOES!  He wouldn't let me remove them!

He absolutely LOVES going to Grandma and Grandpa's!  As soon as my mom shows up to my house to pick them up, he climbs into his car seat and waves "bye bye" at me!  There's no separation anxiety there!

Although I've never prompted him to do so, he has begun telling me when he has to go to the bathroom.  I JUST got done finally fully potty training Maverick, I am taking a little break before starting with Mac, but he loves sitting on the potty and even had a little tinkle today!  I'm very doubtful that this will continue!

All in all, this little man is the PERFECT baby brother!  His brother's ADORE him, and so do his parents!  Macallan has been sleeping in a big boy bed since about 17 months and some nights are better than others :)  When Maverick crawled into bed tonight, without being prompted, he clinched his eyes and hands and said...

"God, thank you for letting me play with my friends.  

Thank you for letting me jump on my trampoline, 

and thank you for my baby brother, 'Callan who is sleeping in my bed with me.  

Amen"

Then he asked me if Macallan HAD to get bigger.  He said he wanted him to stay little forever because he was the cutest, best little brother ever.  I assured him that no matter how big he gets, he'll always be his little brother.

Comments like THAT makes every challenge of raising them completely worth it :)